Cutthroat Pass

Location: North Cascades Pass

Length: 10 miles roundtrip

Elevation: Gain/2000 ft. Highest/6800 ft.

Difficulty: Moderate

Time: 6 hours

This hike is incredible. It is part of the impressive Pacific Crest Trail, which stretches 2600 miles from Canada all the way down to Mexico, trailing through both the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada. This venture totally exemplifies the uniqueness of both Washington's eastern and western sides. From one vantage point, you can see Mt. Logan behind the snow-capped Black Peak in a valley of Evergreens on the right, then the naked and jagged ridge of Cutthroat Peak towering above Cutthroat Lake in front of you. Behind you is a saddle shaped ridge and with a little extra effort, gives you a breathtaking peek at the PCT edging along the backside of The Needles, which are the crazy tall jags you see in the sharp turn on highway 20 heading down toward Winthrop.

 

There are multiple routes to Cutthroat Pass. The one I took starts from the trailhead directly across from the Rainy Pass trailhead. Although there is a legitimate parking lot and even a nice bathroom, it is not marked very well... Jessy and I thought we were hiking Heather-Maple Pass Loop but that is apparently located in the Rainy Pass parking lot. The other way to reach Cutthroat Pass is from the Cutthroat Lake trailhead which is further down the pass toward Winthrop. I believe this hike is around 8 miles and although I have not taken this route up to Cutthroat Pass, I have taken it as far as Cutthroat Lake earlier in the year when the pass was still snowed in.

 

There are plenty of spots to camp and I even saw an established and signed site! There are about three waterfalls on the way up to fill up your bottle or hydrate your pup. The trail is well worn and in great condition. There are some steep spots...especially on the ridge-line at your potential final destination.

This one is definitely in my top five.

Happy hiking!

This is where I'd set up camp. Check out Black Peak!

The "saddle" view of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Overlooking Cutthroat Lake on the right.